Man Who Claims he Was Assaulted for Being Gay May Have Actually Injured Himself

A man claiming to be the victim of an anti-gay assault outside a bar in Missoula, Mont., may have actually caused his own injuries. New video obtained by the police supposedly shows the 22-year-old trying to do a backflip from a street curb and landing on his face:

This is what local media outlets reported immediately following the alleged assault:

The beating of a gay man outside the Missoula Club, where he’d gone to celebrate his 22nd birthday, early Sunday morning has spurred renewed calls to add sexual orientation to bias crimes laws in Montana.

[…]

The man indicated to police he was assaulted because of his sexual orientation, Missoula Police Lt. Scott Brodie said Monday.

The man told police he’d asked people at the Mo Club about the location of a gay bar, when someone asked him to step outside for a cigarette, Brodie said.

But the man said that when he left the bar, someone hit him, and then two more people joined in, Brodie said. The incident happened at 1:30 a.m. Sunday and the man reported it to police at 4:30 a.m., after he got home, Brodie said.

Once the story broke and photos of the 22-year-old became available, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community and its supporters were extremely upset. Some posted pictures of the alleged victim all over Facebook while others called for protests and protective legislation.

The photo of the alleged victim as it appeared on Wipe Out

Homophobia’s Facebook page

But then, you know, the backflip video emerged and it has kind of added a new element to the story.

“Until we finish the investigation, we won’t know the entire story, but it has certainly been a major development in the case,” said Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir, according to the Missoulian.

Still, the video is not conclusive evidence that the alleged victim's story is made up [why do you think we keep saying “alleged”?] and it has yet to be verified whether the above video was recorded the night of the alleged [see?] assault.

“That’s why we’re not rushing to anything. There still needs to be an investigation,” Muir said.

The "Wipe Out Homophobia" Facebook page, however, took a more angry approach to news of the video: "Looks like we have all been had ..."

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